It has been a long time since anything amazed me like visiting the United States last week. Everything was just as big as they said – the skyscrapers, the boulevards, the coal plants and the parking lots. Even I became a little bigger, turning 30 (!) while I was performing at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. The festival itself was larger and more intense than anything I have ever been part of before. An entire hotel complex with thousands of people flowing between concerts and jams, discussions and debates, pop-up showcases and ad-hoc songwriting sessions. Three entire floors had been…

…because that means that I am working on something rather than spending my time on Facebook. These days I have barred myself in my apartment, doing something I have never tried before: I am writing a book. At first I thought it would be easy, then I started trying and realised it would be hard. Then I got a little further, and decided that easy or hard doesn’t matter. It feels important, and that’s the most important thing. The book is the next (and final?) stage of the Unsongs project. In the last few years, there have been countless situations that…

Unsongs has been nominated for Spellemann, the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards. It has been nominated in the category for “best folk album of the year” for 2016 – the second album in history with English lyrics to ever be nominated in this category! As an aside, the first Spellemann was awarded in 1973 to Birgitte Grimstad.

I’m ready for 2017 now! On the 5th of March next year, I’ll be bringing Unsongs to the Norwegian Opera in Oslo, together with the amazing string ensemble Trondheimsolistene, who were nominated for nothing less than three Grammys yesterday. That’s all. Just a small note this time. A big one. Tickets go on sale the 7th December.

After 10 years as a touring artist, it is a huge pleasure to announce that I am – finally – heading to Kansas City next year to do my first ever US show. See you on 17 February 2017 at Folk Alliance International! www.folkalliance.com

Throughout the last week, I have been so lucky to perform Unsongs in Northern Norway together with the incredibly talented Arkhangelsk Chamber Orchestra from northern Russia. The collaboration with Russian musicians constantly reminded me about how privileged I am as a Norwegian artist. Not all of my colleagues in other countries enjoy the same artistic freedom. Read more at The Independent Barents Observer. Photo: Studentsamfunnet Driv.